The Top Tips for building a great actor website

A lot of actors produce sites that in reality work against them. Many actors websites will have either insufficient or excessive information. Your website needs to appear professional and be simple to navigate. You also must display all the vital data clearly and with efficiency. Invest in a actor web design company to build you a fine, sleek and uncluttered website that shows you off in your best light. This investment will really pay off as it promotes you as a professional dedicated actor who is serious about their trade. Actor Design is a great choice as the business is actually run by IT trained actors who recognise the industry from every angle! Their golden rule is that a ‘professional website’ equals a ‘professional actor’. First impressions mean everything in our particularly competitive industry.

An actors website does not call for elaborate effects. It can be tempting to produce a site that grabs the attention of the browser by using hi tech ‘bells and whistles’, brilliant rainbow pages and neon pallettes. These effects are as big a ‘no no’ in site design as are music looping and flashing GIF backdrops. They WILL get you noticed, but for all the wrong reasons. They only make the browser press the back button. Make your website uncomplicated, sleek and effortless for the browser. Industry professionals will sometimes sit at their computer display for long periods of time and will not value a clashing website that tires their eyes. Utilise a simple colour scheme. Generally a three to four colour scheme is best not to mention a readable and clear font. Browse the internet, looking at the various actor websites out there, note what you like and what you don’t. The good website design companies advise you on colour schemes and can help with any design queries that you have.

Most casting directors will not take a punt on an actor for a screen audition if they haven’t seen examples of your work, so have some on your website. Our sister-site Actor Clip is really great value and can clip any work you have into a professional short titled clip which is great for casting directors. I have never known any casting professional to sit through an actor’s whole showreel. Make sure your clips are up to date and easy to view. Do they load quickly? Does they even load at all? The ‘Flash’ format is always a winner, it’s quick to load, looks good and is universal. A great tip is to check and watch your Actor Clips or showreel on different computers, ask your friends to check it for you. Many actors upload their clips or showreel to Youtube and link to that. If you don’t happen to have a showreel, don’t worry, start building up your filming experience. Get Actor Clip to make just one of two clips for you from what work you do have. Don’t be tempted to make your own reel of monologue clips, filmed at home as it will look unprofessional. In addition to your Actor Clips, include any voice clips on the same page using a good web audio player.

Before getting an actor website, make a point to get recent professional headshots taken. Your headshots act are your business card and get you through the initial part of any casting. Any standard audition you attend, chances are the casting directors have only seen one of your headshots. Having an actor website has the added bonus that you can display a varied collection of headshots and also any theatre or film production stills showing you at work. It’s a good idea to seperate your headshots from your production stills, display them in easy to navigate thumbnail galleries. Be sure your photos have clear titles, descriptions and make sure you credit the photographer whenever possible.

Always keep your website CV up to date. Occasionally it’s even easy to forget to update your Spotlight page, you must make sure it’s up to date at all times. It’s vital to have a copy of your CV on your internet site and Actor Design link to your Spotlight CV too, if you have one. The Spotlight CV is professional and easy to print, be certain a casting director can easily get to it. It’s best to have your CV downloadable in either HTML or PDF format.

It is always beneficial to personalise your web site by including an ‘About Me’ section. This is a chance to describe yourself in a truthful, cheerful and personable manner. Think of this section like a theatre programme biog, the browser can discover about you, your background and how you came into acting. Mention your training, experiences and any highlights which may include TV appearances, press releases or even awards. Occasionally agents and casting directors don’t have time to read these pages, but it’s always there if they want to return to your site and find out more about you.

It’s a nice idea to have a ‘news’ or ‘blog’ page so everyone can keep up to date with what you are up to. A casting director could keep checking your site regularly if they are interested in you, so keep them in the loop with what’s happening for you. This sort of page can help make your actor site more personable and friendly. Don’t forget to include links to prestigious projects you have been working on. Don’t let your starring role at the National go unnoticed!

Make sure your, or most importantly, your agent’s details are on your site and can be easily found. Include as many agent contact details as possible such as email addresses and phone numbers. It’s always a good idea to have your details on there too, just in case some industry professionals would want to contact you directly.

Any actor serious about their profession needs to have a website. However, there are thousands and thousands of actor websites out there already. Some good, some bad. You need to constantly promote your website on a regular basis, don’t just expect agents and casting directors to come across it randomly. A common myth is that agents and directors spend hours searching through actor websites on a daily basis and may one day happen across yours and then offer you a job. Wrong! The truth is that you must always be sending out the link in your emails, letters and on your social network sites. Include the link on your business cards, your CV’s and letters that you mail out. Another vitally important tip is to create your website with your own domain name. Even if you have a common name like John Smith, you could always produce ‘johnsmithactor.com’ or ‘johnsmith-actor.com’. Keep up to date with your website hosting fees, the last thing you want is for your website to be ‘unavailable’ when a top Hollywood casting agent clicks on your link.

A professional website leaves a suitable positive impression to your browser. Keep ahead of your competition by creating a brand that will always get you noticed for the right reasons. A professional website is a good investment for any actor. Who knows, you might soon be having to build your seperate ‘fan website’ when you hit the big time and become a famous actor!